Liberty women's tennis player Kalani Soli was honored as the 2020 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region Senior Player of the Year, Monday.

Soli is the first player in program history to receive the distinction handed out to the top senior player in each region.

Despite the shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ITA continued to recognize the hard work on and off the court from deserving student-athletes.

"Kalani is deserving of this award! Her hard work and determination to compete at her highest possible level on a day-to-day basis enabled her to produce great (not just good) tennis for us," said Liberty Women's Tennis Head Coach Jeff Maren. "She has been an inspiration to her teammates and coaches, and we are blessed that she has chosen to return for one more year!"

Since arriving at Liberty in fall 2018 after transferring from Tyler Junior College, Soli has excelled on the court for the Lady Flames. The Carson, Calif., native has posted a 40-10 overall singles record and 25-3 spring singles mark in two seasons and has not lost a singles match in spring play since Feb. 10, 2019. In doubles, Soli owns a 28-13 overall record and 18-5 spring mark.

Prior to the spring 2020 season being halted, Soli held a 16-5 overall singles record and perfect 9-0 No. 1 singles mark in spring competition and was also 8-2 in spring doubles with her partner, freshman Eloise Saraty. Soli, a team captain, earned two ASUN Player of the Week honors as well, this spring. Her most notable win came in fall competition, a straight-sets victory (7-5, 6-2) over No. 20 Asuka Kawai of Illinois at the Oracle ITA Masters.

During the 2018-19 campaign, Soli earned ASUN All-Conference first team honors as well as VaSID All-State singles first team recognition. She went 24-5 overall in singles, including a perfect 15-0 record at No. 2 singles and 14-match winning streak to end the year. Soli, who became the Lady Flames' first-ever ASUN Player of the Week on March 20, 2019, concluded the season as the No. 14-ranked singles player in the Atlantic Region.

Before her time at Liberty, Soli won two team national championships at Tyler Junior College, clinching the title for her squad in her second year. She was in the top three nationally in singles during both of her years at Tyler.

The ITA also named regional winners for several other awards, including: Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award, ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA Player to Watch, ITA Most Improved Senior, ITA Community Service Award and ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award.

The national winners of the awards will be announced next Monday during a special virtual awards ceremony. The awards ceremony can be viewed on the ITA's Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts.